PennDOT to replace Lehigh Street bridge

Plans under way for $1 million project, over Coplay Creek.

The state Department of Transportation is working on plans to replace the Lehigh Street bridge over Coplay Creek.

PennDOT officials are estimating that actual work on the bridge will begin in 2010. They said they are about a year away from completing a preliminary design on the bridge.

Work on the bridge was not prompted by the collapse of a bridge in Minnesota last August, said PennDOT officials, who noted they started drafting the preliminary plan in late 2002.

The bridge is currently safe, they said.

"Everything has a shelf life," said PennDOT district portfolio manager Jay McGee, explaining the reasons for the repairs. "We strive to replace them before we have to close them."

The bridge runs along Lehigh Street, through which motorists can access Northampton County via the Hokendauqua-North Catasauqua bridge. It carries about 10,254 vehicles a day, said PennDOT Safety Press Officer Sean Brown.